Team Paragon Drafts Briana O’Higgins
• Public radio pro Briana O’Higgins is joining Team Paragon as Organizational Insights Consultant, working with public media owners to reset organizational structures, and in some cases to combine operations, as they face financial pressure.
Paragon CEO Mike Henry said, “I’ve worked with Briana at several stations for many years and know that she is the perfect person to help public media companies reduce inefficiencies for a stronger sustainable future. Through data-based decisions, we can help stations increase public service, reduce expenses, grow revenue and redirect funds to areas that will move the needle –like local journalism, podcasting, and community building — and develop the next generation of public media employees.”
O’Higgins, who will continue as consultant to North Texas Public Broadcasting and Greater Public, stated, “Public media is evolving, and with that comes an opportunity to strengthen the systems and structures that support its mission. I’m honored to join Paragon to help stations align strategy with capacity — clarifying roles, improving operations and ensuring teams are equipped to serve their communities with impact.”
O’Higgins is a leader in digital transformation and audience development for nonprofit media organizations and news publishers. With an emphasis on process and technology, O’Higgins is well-versed in broadcast technologies and automation systems with an eye towards efficiency for live and automated workflows. The majority of her leadership experience centers around multidisciplinary team building and audience development.
She has served as the inaugural Audience Development lead at KCUR/Kansas City and KERA Dallas(including KERA TV, Triple A KXT and Classical WRR), building cross-functional teams after significant restructures. She has also served as a coach for the Poynter Institute’s popular Table Stakes digital transformation program, coaching both public media stations and small legacy newspaper publishers. She has a master’s degree in documentary studies and worked as a public radio reporter alongside hosting duties in multiple markets.
O’Higgins is based in Kansas City and can be contacted at briana@teamparagon.consulting.
